


gather here in this haven

by desiderate



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: (sort of), Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Angst, Everyone Loves Yang Jeongin | I.N, Friendship, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Stray Kids Rebellion, Witch Yang Jeongin | I.N, Yang Jeongin | I.N-centric, please read this it’s good i swear!!! 🥺
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:15:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25403704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/desiderate/pseuds/desiderate
Summary: yang jeongin lives in the Outside with his mother, and has never known any different. he's oblivious to the troubles of the Inside, until the day he's accused of practicing magic... which he hadn't even known existed. everything after that seems to be a constant downward spiral for jeongin, but he'll endure it until the day he finds happiness again.which might just show up in the form of seven other boys, and in particular one named bang chan.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Yang Jeongin | I.N, Han Jisung | Han & Yang Jeongin | I.N, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 33
Kudos: 64





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello everyone! i have a new fic! for anyone waiting on updates for my older fics.. i promise i'll get around to it, no matter how long it takes!  
> i already have a fair amount of this written, so even though this isn't finished, i figured i'd start posting it. please leave a comment and kudos if you enjoy it, it really motivates me!! 
> 
> please heed the warnings and tags! not all apply to this chapter but they will appear at some point.

“Jeongin-ah!” The voice of Jeongin’s mother called out to him from across the fields. Looking up from where he was patting the soil of their apple crops, Jeongin noticed his mother frantically waving her arm in the air. “Jeongin-ah, come here for a bit!” Although the words were not demanding, Jeongin suddenly noticed that his mother’s tone was a bit strained. 

Standing up and ignoring the pain in his knees, the teenager quickly headed towards his mother, running between rows upon rows of apple trees. The trees were Jeongin’s favorite crop to help out with, because the leaves provided shade that hid Jeongin from the terribly harsh sun that plagued the fields most days of the year. Still, the boy had a permanent sunburn, and even as he ran toward his mother, he felt the burning itches of bug bites beneath his overalls pants and on his bare arms.

“What’s wrong, ma?” Jeongin panted, looking behind her for any sign of danger. All he saw was crops, rows upon rows, the apple trees at some point fading into wheat.

“We have to head home, Jeongin-ah. Now.”

“Eh -- but I’m still not done turning over the soil…” Puzzled, the teen still followed when his mother beckoned him, and the two set off at a hasty pace for their house.

“There are some people here to see the village, Jeongin,” and Jeongin could not even begin to think of who would be visiting that scared his mother so much. He knew practically everyone around, as all their houses were right next to each other. The crop fields surrounded the little cluster of run down houses, spiraling outwards for acres upon acres, and all the families had their own section that they tended. Other than the twenty families, there was no one around for miles.

Unless you counted the people inside the wall.

Jeongin and his mother lived outside the wall, and they always had. Jeongin had never been inside, either, although he suspected his mother had grown up there. The wall was fairly new, after all. People from the inside weren’t allowed out, and people from the outside weren’t allowed in. The only ones that traversed between the two were the highest ranking government officials, and the border guards.

“Is it someone from inside the wall?” Jeongin asked when he thought about it for a bit. Surely a visit from them would scare his mother, since they barely ever came around. They didn’t even come outside to collect the crops; it was the farmer families’ job to transport their crops to the entrance of the wall, traversing the long and tiring path with creaky wagons about once a week. The farmers were only allowed to keep just enough crops to support their own families. Jeongin himself had never actually seen someone from inside the wall, since they had no reason to visit the Outsiders within his memory. Jeongin’s neighbor had once whispered to him that when Jeongin was really young, a lot of guards came and took an Outsider away, but no one spoke of that, and his mother hit him with her slipper when he had tried to ask her about it.

She didn’t seem any more willing to talk about it now, but Jeongin’s mother finally relented some information. “Yes, a councilman and a few guards have come to visit the village. You need to be quiet, Jeongin. Don’t smile, don’t move, only talk if they ask a question directly to you. Do you understand?”

The gravity of the situation finally settled on Jeongin when he heard his mother’s voice. Something was seriously wrong.

“I understand, ma,” Jeongin nodded, and the two fell into silence as they saw their village approach in the distance. As they got closer, Jeongin noticed that all the families had seemingly gathered, no one left in the fields. They were all standing outside their houses, forming a circle around several men in the middle.

Those men were obviously not Outsiders. Outsiders had tanned, burned skin, large hats to protect them from the sun, soiled jeans and overalls, and worn down tee shirts. These men were stunningly pale, and seemed to be sweating a lot in the uncomfortable heat. Five of them wore black tee shirts, and cargo pants, and combat boots (Outsiders never wore black, the color attracted the sun too much and made them feel even hotter) and had bulky things strapped across their chest or in their hands. Jeongin realized they were guns, the first time he was seeing such a thing. The remaining man was dressed in a white button up shirt, no wrinkles to be seen, straight legged grey pants, and dress shoes that were starting to be covered in mud. His face had a peeved expression, and the way he held himself struck Jeongin with the impression that he should be fearful of him. 

As Jeongin and his mother approached, the dressed up man’s eyes immediately went toward them. “Finally, you’ve arrived,” his voice was surprisingly stern, “everyone is here now?” His gaze traveled scathingly over all the families, as if daring them to tell them that someone was still missing. No one spoke up, and the man took that as confirmation of his words. “Good. The quicker we can get this over with, the quicker you all can return to your work.

“My name is Councilman Lim Jaebeom. I preside over issues of security and human intelligence for the Inside.” The man rolled up his sleeves, walking slowly around the circle, eyes meeting every single person. Everyone was absolutely silent as they watched him, their eyes quivering with fear. They could tell that this was not a friendly visit, nervously glancing at the guns that seemed ready to shoot at any moment.

“We haven’t had to make any trips out here in years because there have been no issues of insurgence. In other words, no issues that needed my department’s attention. Or so we thought, until my bureau learned that someone here has been concealing information from us and colluding to harm the government of Goryo.” People hardly referred to Goryo much anymore, because the term technically referred to both the Inside and Outside. As a natural consequence of the stark difference between the two, most people had taken to the Inside and Outside terminology. 

At Councilman Jaebeom’s words, a quiet hush seemed to spread through the crowd. Jeongin watched as family members shifted eyes toward one another, most of them confused or suspicious. Jeongin himself couldn’t believe anyone there was capable of collusion against the government. He had known them all for years, and sure there were a few pricks here and there, but no one seemed outright malicious.

Turning his gaze to his mother, Jeongin noticed that she was staring straight ahead at the councilman, sweat gathering on her brow, eyes narrowed slightly. He didn’t know why, but a sudden sense of foreboding settled in his stomach.

“Insidious magic was wiped out from Goryo years ago. For decades, magic users had targeted common people for their own greed, using their superiority to torment them and raise themselves above others. I do not need to lecture most of you about this, but perhaps if you are younger you were born after we purged the sorcerers,” he said, his voice having taken on a scornful tone. At the end his eyes settled on Jeongin himself, one of the few teenagers in the Outside. Most families here had children that were already adults, and Jeongin was one of three people that were younger than twenty. “After the sorcerers were eradicated, and those who supported them were excommunicated from these lands, Goryo flourished like never before. 

“It has come to our attention that there is someone here that has been using magic to grow the crops. They might have supposed that we would never find out that magic was contaminating the crops and making them grow more rich and abundant; however, they were unaware of the screening that all crops undergo. During the time of purging, technology was developed to detect any item that was affected by magic, and we still use that technology today.

“Now the question is, will the person who is using magic submit themselves to us without resistance,” Councilman Jaebeom’s eyes burned into everyone, and Jeongin felt himself shiver, “or will they force us to take more…. persuasive measures?” At this, his eyes glanced toward the soldiers with guns, and everyone understood the threat.

Frankly, Jeongin was feeling lost. Not his mother nor anyone else in the village had ever mentioned magic, and this was his first time finding out it was real. Magic was something he had read about in fictional stories, but he had never been able to fathom that it was something that was the history of his people. His homeschooling went over history, but nothing he ever learned was about magic. Why was it considered so dangerous? In the classic tales he had read, magic was esteemed, and it helped save people. Why was using magic to help grow some crops such a big deal?

But obviously he could not pose that question to the councilman, who was convinced of the evil of magic. He stood with his shoulders squared, awaiting someone to come forward. But he was met with silence from the crowd, people glancing nervously at each other as if urging the person responsible to come forward so no one else would have to suffer.

Jeongin was pulled from his thoughts by a growl from Councilman Jaebeom. “So the coward will not come forward, is that it? If so, we are going to have to conduct house searches for any traces of magic. Submit yourself now and the punishment will be less severe; continue hiding, and we will show you no mercy.” Jeongin had a strange feeling that either way the punishment would be death, and that the “mercy” the guards would show would be killing the sorcerer in a humane, swift manner. 

At the continued silence, Jaebeom’s eyes furrowed. “Fine, if that is what you will make us do, then we will search all the houses. Go to your house now, and stay there until a guard and I come inside. Do not think about escaping, as four guards will remain out here watching all of you, and will not hesitate to shoot if you attempt to.” The villagers looked fearful at his words, and rushed toward their houses. Jeongin glanced at his mother, his trembling hand reaching out to hers for comfort. She grabbed his without looking him in the eyes, instead tugging him in the direction of their home.

As soon as they entered, Jeongin confided his worries in her. “Ma, is magic really real? If it is, why is it hated to much? Who here could have magic? Wouldn’t we have notic--”

“Innie, hun, I don’t have the time to answer all of those right now,” his mother cut him off, turning around and placing both her hands on his shoulders. Her voice was strained, and while Jeongin could blame it on the life-threatening men outside, he had a strange feeling in his stomach that something was off. “All I can say is that magic is real, and it is very much hated. Those on the Inside, they will kill anyone with magic, and subject those associated with sorcerers to fates they do not deserve.” She paused as if deciding something. “Your father… he had magic. The Inside government killed him, and banished me out here, along with other people associated with sorcerers.”

The words made Jeongin’s heart stutter. His father… was a sorcerer? His whole life, his mother had told him that his father had passed away in a street mugging incident, a few months before Jeongin was born, and that she had moved to the Outside to distance herself from the streets that were haunted by his memory. 

Why had she never told him the truth?

“I’m sorry, Innie, I meant to tell you when you got older, but I thought we’d have more time than this.”

“How come I never even knew magic was real though? No one here ever even mentioned it!” Jeongin could feel his voice start to hysterically tremble, and his mother squeezed his shoulders in a comforting manner.

“We all decided that it would be a taboo, that none of us could risk our lives like this. Obviously, the Inside is more attuned to us than we think. The best way in which we could honor the lives of our lost loved ones was to continue living long lives, and in order to do that, magic had to become a fable. I’m sorry for lying, Jeongin-ah. If I had mentioned it earlier, maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess,” she sighed and stepped back, taking her hands away and looking around their small house. Her words, however, nagged at Jeongin’s mind.

“Eh? What do you mean? If you had mentioned it earlier…? Do you mean, you’re the one with magic?!” Jeongin felt his heart drop, his worry for his mother skyrocketing. 

“I… No. I’m not. I suppose I could have taken it up after your father died, continued his alchemy research, but I was too scared. But I was also scared for you, Innie,” she said as she placed one of hands on his hair, slowly petting it.

“Me? Why?”

“While most sorcerers learn the trade, decide to engage in the arts, there are some that are born with magical talent. These people have stronger magic than anyone that simply learns it from the book, and it can be passed on to their offspring.” Jeongin’s hands started to shake, knowing where this was headed. “I thought… For most of your life I thought it had miraculously skipped you. That you wouldn’t be burdened by magic in a time when it is so hated,” her voice caught here, and she closed her eyes, swallowing her tears. “But last year I noticed. You would make things happen when you didn’t realize. It always happened when you were sleeping. Things around the room would float, disappear and reappear… I thought we had more time, because nothing happened when you were awake.”

“The c-crops…” Jeongin stuttered, feeling weirdly out of body, as if he was learning something about someone else and not himself.

“The crops,” his mother nodded, “of course I didn’t think twice. I thought it was a miracle, not magic. Our wheat crop hadn’t been looking too good, and I told you about my worry that we would lose a significant amount of the crop and suffer some consequences. A few days later, the wheat started growing beautifully and abundantly, and we were able to send it to the Inside. It seems that your magic unconsciously made the crops grow…”

“But how? Wouldn’t I have noticed… or, or felt something? Jeongin desperately wanted to believe this was not happening to him. While any other teenage boy might have loved to hear that they had magic, to Jeongin this was something that would kill him.

“I’m not sure, although from your father’s stories, it seems that what you’ve done is called accidental magic. It’s out of your control, and so you probably don’t even notice.”

It made sense, but Jeongin didn’t want things to make sense. He wanted to scream and yell and cry and say _no, this isn’t me, it can’t be me!_ But he knew he couldn’t indulge in those childish reactions when his and his mother’s lives were on the line.

“So…” Jeongin took a deep breath after hearing the way his voice shook. “So… I have no choice, right? Turn myself in? They’ll be able to detect the traces of magic here, there’s no point in lying, and there’s nowhere to run.” His mind worked quickly to try and come up with some way out of this, but as he spoke the words, he knew he was at a dead end. “I-I don’t want to die!” The words were choked out on a sob, Jeongin burying his face into his hands as his cheeks were coated with sudden tears. All he could hear in his head were the same phrase over and over: _I don’t want to die, this isn’t fair! This isn’t fair, this isn’t fair!_ He knew it was childish, but goddamnit, he was still just a child!

“Honey, honey,” his mother said, her voice gaining a new strength upon seeing her child crying. She wrapped her arms around him briefly, but then backed away in order to pry his hands away from his eyes. “You’re not gonna die, I’m gonna make sure of it.”

“Wh-what? You know a way out of this?” Jeongin stared at his mother, wide eyes reminiscent of a young child that believed his mother had fantastical powers. 

“I have to find something. Give me a moment, baby,” his mother said, smoothing his hair once before running across the room and frantically throwing things around. Jeongin was scared and confused, but knew he couldn’t help, so he simply stared as his mother uncovered a false floorboard and pulled out a box. She brought it back over toward him, setting it on their table and entering a 10 digit numerical code on the lock. Jeongin peered over her soldier as the box opened, lips parting when he saw what lay at the top of the box.

An old photo, it must have been, because his mother looked years younger, only a few years older than himself. But the condition was impeccable, it was obviously treasured. His mother was being held by a young man, and Jeongin could see the resemblance of himself to this person.

“D-dad?” His mother nodded, flipping over the photo to reveal a message written to her: _I may have magic, but you’re magical, baby ♡._

“This was taken before the thoughts about magic turned sour. They made me burn all the other photos I had, and they don’t allow much technology out here, but… I managed to save this, and a few more of his things. The box is enchanted. If someone enters the right passcode, it opens to these items, but if I were to tell the government the wrong passcode, like I did when they ransacked our old place, it simply opens and reveals some typical family heirlooms. It’s how I was able to keep this, this one photo…” Jeongin could hear his mother’s voice break, and put a comforting hand on her back. He didn’t know how else he could help, and doubted he could ever understand what she had gone through and how she felt looking at this stuff.

“But that’s not what I opened this for,” she cleared her throat and moved on. “Back when the witch hunt started, your father crafted a very useful device that saved him for many, many years. In the chaos of him getting arrested, I managed to salvage this item.” She dug under a few other things before pulling out a thin silver chain. 

“Is that… a bracelet?” Jeongin asked.

“An anklet. Much less noticeable. It was magically charmed so that the devices the government was using could not detect your father’s magic core. It had a downside or two that your father didn’t care about back then, because he was just focusing on trying to survive, for me and for… his future child,” she cast a look at Jeongin and gave him a painful smile.

“I don’t care about any consequences, if it ensures the government can’t find out I have magic, I’ll wear it!”

“Well first of all, the dire need for such an item must have been sensed by your father’s magic, which has a mind of its own at times because it comes from a natural core. In making the object, your father didn’t realize that once it was put on, he would not be able to take it off. Only someone else with natural magic has the ability to remove it. This was supposed to be a sort of safeguard. Your father could be coerced to remove it, or it could fall off, or someone could forcibly take it off, and this was meant to prevent any of those situations. Natural magic recognizes only other natural magic as safe, and thus the anklet can only be taken off by someone else who possesses natural magic.”

“That doesn’t seem like much of a downside though?”

“Paired with the other downside, it can be… Such powerful magic often requires a toll in exchange. In this anklet’s case, It made it so his magic was locked, honey. While the anklet was on, your father could not use magic, neither the natural nor the learned kind. We didn’t think it was a gamble. The anklet should have been completely undetectable, and while it would have stripped his magic away if the situation came that he needed to fight and run away, we never thought it would come to that. Neither he nor I considered that he would ever be detected, nor did he care about not having the magic that he was so used to. He was willing to give it up completely for our safety.”

“I don’t care about being able to have access to magic, I’ll wear it! I want the same thing, I want us to be safe!” Jeongin affirmed, and his mother leaned down to clasp the anklet around his ankle. Standing up, she looked him in the eyes again, and Jeongin could sense a sadness in her gaze. 

“The anklet used natural magic as its mechanism, and thus could be detected by another natural sorcerer. The government recruited such a person into their ranks, promising him they would not kill him in exchange for his help. This person sensed natural magic coming from your father and followed him home, threatening us and holding us in our apartment until government officials could come and make the arrest. Before they did, the other sorcerer questioned how your father had remained undetected. After learning about the anklet, the sorcerer removed it from your father, arrogantly not worrying about your father trying to escape with his magic.”

“But… he wasn’t able to?”

“We almost did. Your father… mortally wounded the other sorcerer. But please Jeongin, don’t believe he was cruel or quick to harm others, he never was in his life, but this was a matter of life or death. He retrieved the anklet back and we were about to escape when the government agents arrived. He managed to slip me the anklet before they…” His mother choked up, and Jeongin rushed to reassure her.

“You don’t have to tell me the rest, ma! I can… fill it in for myself,” he ended forlornly. He was sure that his mother witnessed his father’s death. He doubted the government showed any mercy to someone that had killed the one magician they had on their side.

“Jeongin, you should be safe as long as you have that anklet on. I’m not sure, but from my own understanding of your father’s magic, the properties of it might have changed. It’s nothing I can confirm, but based off of what I know, the magic within it might not recognize other natural magic users as safe anymore, because of what happened. That downside may be gone, although that’s my own hypothesis. Even if it isn’t, last I heard, every single magic user was… murdered. Even the ones who helped the government. There shouldn’t be anyone else left that is able to detect your magic. You’re going to live,” and his mother sounded so sure of it, that Jeongin instantly believed her. 

They didn’t have time to contemplate any other details, because the two were shocked out of their own little world by two scarily loud knocks on their door. Jeongin saw his mother’s face pale, and she wordlessly signalled toward the box with her eyes. Jeongin moved to close it, grabbing it and rushing back toward the floorboard his mother had taken it from. Covering it back up with the carpet and some furniture, Jeongin saw his mother nervously walking toward the door after making sure it was away. 

It was at that moment that Jeongin’s eyes spotted something under the table. Rushing back, he bent down to pick up the old photo of his parents. _This must have fallen on the floor when we didn’t notice!_ Frantic and knowing that he had no time to put it back in the box, since his mother was moments away from opening the door, Jeongin nervously folded the photo and shoved it in the thickly rolled up cuff of his jean overall pant leg. 

“P-please, come in,” he heard his mother say, and he looked up. She had the door opened halfway, peering meekly at the man who had called himself Councilman Lim Jaebeom. Jeongin noticed a soldier behind the intimidating man, armed with a gun and staring soullessly ahead. He gulped as his mother opened the door all the way, Councilman Jaebeom not saying a word, simply peering around his narrowed eyes. 

“Mrs. Yang, am I correct?” he finally said, turning to stare down Jeongin’s mother. Jeongin could see the fear in her eyes flash, but after briefly glancing over at Jeongin she straightened up and wiped any remnants of the fear from her visage. 

“That is correct, sir.”

“We appreciate your cooperation on this matter. I’ve been informed by some of your neighbors that the crops in question are predominantly looked over by you… and your son.” 

At his words, the councilman’s eyes slid over to Jeongin, and the boy froze at the pure coldness of his gaze.

“That is correct sir, we do a lot of the work on those crops. However I’m sure others have mentioned, we all pitch in to help everyone else, most days there are members of other families coming over to help us, so…” she trailed off, the implication of her words clear. Councilman Jaebeom simply grunted.

“We’re going to take a look around your house. I have a tool that will detect items that have been affected by magic. If you inhibit this inspection in any way, my man is not afraid to intervene.” Jeongin gulped, knowing that the _intervention_ would include that gun.

Jeongin’s mother’s expression soured for a moment before she stepped back, a gesture indicating for the man to go ahead and conduct his search. Jeongin knew there was no excuse they could give to stop the man from searching their house, and nothing they could physically do to stop him without getting caught.

All the two of them could do was pray that the objects that Jeongin moved in his sleep had since lost any trace of magic that was imparted on them. 

Jeongin bit his lip and squirmed in his spot as he watched the councilman pull out a small, hi tech device. As his mother had pointed out, the advanced technology that was so common in the Inside was not often seen in the Outside, the inhabitants of which were told they did not need such devices. They could not argue with these government decisions, thus Jeongin was surprised and slightly amazed when the oblong device started beeping every few seconds as the man moved throughout their living room and kitchen. His amazement was immediately swallowed by his overwhelming anxiety. 

Their entire house was open space, and he pulled back the curtain they had set up that blocked off the back room where Jeongin and his mother slept in. 

The room where Jeongin had made things float and disappear and reappear.

_Please, please, please don’t let him detect anything._

The man had passed over most of the room and Jeongin started to feel himself relax.

Until he stopped by Jeongin’s lamp, and his device started beeping incessantly.

Immediately the stoic guard by the entrance stepped inside, closing the door harshly behind him and grabbing Jeongin’s mother by her arms. He held them so they were behind her back, in what looked like a terrifyingly tight grip. As Jeongin stepped forward with a worried “hey!” in protest, his worry for his mother overruling his fear at that moment, the guard debated something briefly before losing his grip on Jeongin’s mother. 

The action was not a relief though. Instead, because it was only one guard to the two of them, he figured out a way to keep both of them contained. He took his gun and aimed it at Jeongin’s head.

“Don’t. Move.” The words were spat out, the warning clear. If Jeongin moved at all, he was dead. If Jeongin’s mother moved at all, he was dead. Jeongin felt his breath stop in his chest, barely registering the feeble protests of his mother, begging the guard not to hurt her child. 

Councilman Jaebeom had made his way back over to them at this point, silencing his mother’s protests, his neutral expression having soured completely. He looked at Jeongin and his mother as if they were the scum of the earth.

“Did I not tell you earlier? You lie to me, you will not be shown any mercy. I was not intending to take extreme measures,” _he’s lying,_ Jeongin thought, “but you have forced me to. This is all your fault, for withholding information from the government.” Jeongin felt a fiery resistance build in his chest, but knew now was not the time to talk back. Still, he felt disgusted at the manipulative words of the councilman, acting like he had no choice. The councilman turned toward Jeongin, taking a step in his direction. “So, the lamp by what appears to be your bed has traces of magic. What is your name, boy?” 

Faced by the councilman, all of Jeongin’s fire burned out, and he felt fearful shivers rack his body. “I-I--”

“Please, it wasn’t him!” 

What?

“He left the light on by his bedside one night when falling asleep, and I was too tired to get out of bed and shut it off myself. I thoughtlessly used my magic to do so. I… he doesn’t have magic. I learned it from my husband, but I never taught him. This was my mistake.”

Jeongin could feel his eyes widening, boring into his mother, who refused to look at him. She was standing straight and proud, her eyes shaking slightly as they bore into the eyes of Councilman Jaebeom, who had turned to face her when she had first spoken. He felt the words building up in his chest, _no, no, it was me, she’s lying, she’s lying to save me!_ but for some reason they couldn’t come out. His throat was closing up, as if he was having an anaphylactic reaction to her lies. 

“Is that so?” Jaebeom plainly said, regarding her with a raised eyebrow. He seemed to assess her for a moment to determine whether she was lying, and found that his conclusion would suffice. Giving a shrug, he turned to the guard. “Kill the witch.”

_What?_

“No!” Jeongin screamed, attempting to run toward the guard who was turning his gun in the direction of his mother. The strong grip of Councilman Jaebeom restrained him, strong enough to hold Jeongin back, despite how much the boy struggled.

 _Why am I not stronger?_ He wondered as tears sprung to his eyes. _Why am I just a small, weak kid?_

The guard had levelled the gun at his mother’s head, hesitating and turning back to look at Jaebeom. Even in this moment, with the guard not looking, his mother did not resist. Logically, Jeongin knew why: she would get shot anyway, and then they might shoot Jeongin too, but -- _Why aren’t you doing anything, ma? Grab his gun, shoot him, shoot the councilman, we’ll run, we’ll run far away from here and far away from the Inside, there has to be somewhere else in this world, somewhere where we can live peacefully and no one will disturb us! It’s always been just the two of us, we can do it on our own, we can--_

Bang.

Lost in his panic, Jeongin had missed the affirming nod the councilman gave his guard. 

He hadn’t missed the melancholic smile his mother sent him, right before a bullet entered her forehead. The blood that ran over her kind eyes as her body crumpled to the ground. Lifeless. 

Distantly he could hear himself screeching, falling to his knees, eyes wanting to close but still somehow desperately pinned on his mother’s limp form. She lay crooked to the side, her face still visible, only her smile untouched by the blood from the wound. The longer he stared, the more Jeongin could feel his vision blurring, his chest tightening, a weird high pitched ringing filling his ears. 

This wasn’t real. This was a dream. No -- a nightmare. Real life wasn’t distorted in this way. Real life was quiet, and violence didn’t exist, and he only knew the soft brush of his mother’s hands pushing his bangs out of his eyes, or the warm embrace of her hug at night. In real life, no one would dare harm an innocent person like his mother. 

That was it, that had to be it, the blurred vision, the high pitched sound, those were just signs that he was dreaming, that he was hallucinating, that something was wrong with him. That there was nothing wrong with his mother.

That was the only reasonable explanation. No, the only _possible_ explanation.

Jeongin was pulled out of his thoughts by a hand reaching for his mother, grabbing her arm, pulling her… pulling her away? No, that didn’t make sense. Why wasn’t his mother moving? Why would she just let someone drag her away? She wasn’t dead. She couldn’t be dead. Even if part of this was real, that his mother was passed out on the floor, she would never be dead. She had to have… hit her head. Maybe. 

No, no that wasn’t right. There was… a hole in her forehead. Okay, okay, something terrible had happened, but that didn’t mean she had died. She couldn’t have died yet. She wasn’t allowed to die yet! He hadn’t told her about that book he just finished, or about the deer in the field that got so close to him, or about the cute dog that kept following around because he _knew_ she would scold him for feeding it. So she couldn’t be dead yet. They just had to… get her treatment. As soon as possible. This guy had to stop dragging her away, he was going to hurt her head!

“No, no! Stop, stop, she-- she’s still alive, check her pulse, please, she might not be breathing, don’t take her away, please, no don’t take her away from me!” Jeongin surged forward, ripping free of the grip on his shoulder, scrambling to his feet only to be hit with a wave of dizziness that sent him right back toward the floor. For some reason his head felt very light, like he had no air left in his lungs. 

“She’s dead, boy. Stop your hysterics, it’s pathetic,” a voice above him hummed under the high pitched sound in his ears, floating just slightly too far for him to hear clearly. Along with the voice, the bruising grip returned, and this time no matter how much Jeongin fought he could not escape it.

It was getting harder to breathe, like his lungs were tied to his mother’s body. The closer her body was dragged toward the door, the farther away from him she became, the tighter the knot around his lungs became, until they were squeezed so lightly that he didn’t even think she was breathing.

And then she was gone.

“N..n..” Jeongin tried to rasp out a protest, but it only came out as panicked wheezes. 

“Get up.” 

No.

“Get up, boy.”

Nothing mattered anymore.

“I said, get up, unless you want me to get a guard to shoot your fucking brains out too!”

But…

But if he let himself get shot, his mother’s sacrifice would have been in vain. It would have been for nothing. If he let himself get shot, then he should have just died in the first place. He should have just died in the first place… why, why wasn’t it him? Why did she think he could live without her? He had no one else. 

_I should be dead._ Jeongin shook slightly, feeling hot tears burning down his face. _I should be dead, but I’m not. And I can’t be._

It felt like a burden too heavy to bear. But he braced himself, and brought one leg up under himself. And then the other. And then he stood up.

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw i have no beta so this is just edited by myself! please look forward to the next chapter, and leave a comment if you enjoyed reading or just have any thoughts! ♡


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the threat to jeongin's life is not over yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another chapter!!! i hope you all enjoy, and again, please be aware of the story warnings. not all apply to every chapter but please be careful!!
> 
> if the plot/world seems a bit confusing ever, please let me know~! i think it should be understandable but lmk if it's not at any point!!!

Things filtered in and out after that. Someone was dragging him along, and his feet followed on autopilot. The councilman -- no, his mother’s murderer -- walked in front of him, taking him somewhere. He didn’t see his mother again. All he saw was the back of the devil in front of him, and his lifelong neighbors staring invasively from behind their doors in his peripheral. 

He blinked and suddenly he was seated in the back of a truck. There was something cold around his wrists, keeping them close together. A mean looking man sat beside him, gun in his hand, but it wasn’t the one who… who… had been in his house. 

In the driver’s seat was another guard he didn’t recognize, in the passenger’s seat sat the devil. 

Anger flared inside of him, replacing the numbness and despair. He wished he could do something to this man, who had all the power in the world and used that power to kill innocent people. 

The anger consumed him to the point where he blacked out, and when he resurfaced, his surroundings had changed completely. He was struck with the feeling that he was not in his body, but witnessing someone who looked just like him sit with his forehead pressed against a car window. It couldn’t be him, because when would he ever find himself in a situation where he would be on the Inside? 

He wasn’t sure that this was the Inside, but really there was no other answer for the tall buildings that touched the sky, the sleek metal that constructed every part of the city, the artificial lights that glowed glaringly white-blue. There was no other answer for the brisk, cold faced people that walked without a glance toward their moving truck, the small devices in their hands that they were rapidly moving their fingers against, their indifference toward one another even when one accidentally bumped into someone else. 

Yang Jeongin only knew the Outside, where everyone smiled at each other, where everyone helped when someone else was in need, where the most advanced technology was plumbing and electricity. Yang Jeongin did not exist in a world as frigid as this. Maybe Yang Jeongin did not exist at all anymore, and he was just staring at someone who looked like him, had stolen his body and replaced it with someone who could do nothing but stare absently at the horridly strange world outside. 

When Jeongin came back to his body, he was inside somewhere. There were guards on either side of him, pulling him toward a room. He thought about resisting, but feeling the guns slung around their backs bump into him made him refrain. 

Everything was too bright. It was all white, artificial, and it hurt his eyes. He loved the brightness of the sun, and the dim yellow glow of his lamp was tolerable, but this was too much. He squinted his eyes slightly, filtering in the harsh light, until he was pulled through a doorway, and his eyes instinctively widened. 

The room was spacious but not much filled it. Sat in the middle was a long chair, the back of it angled almost completely parallel to the ground. Attached to the sides of it lay many black straps that had buckles on them, and Jeongin was smart enough to put two and two together. He was going to be strapped in there. 

Did he resist? Did he go along until he had the chance to safely make an escape? 

He had to pick the path that gave him a better chance of survival. He had to stay alive. Resisting authority would do no good but to feed his selfish desires. He couldn’t only think about himself, he had to think about his mother. He was nobody in their eyes, they wouldn’t think about killing him. Probably. He couldn’t risk testing that. 

Reluctantly, he let himself be pushed around and forcefully be shoved into the chair, strapped in it against his will. Keeping distrustful eyes training on him, the two guards retreated so they were standing on both sides of the entrance, watching him as if he had the capacity to jump out of the chair and attack them. Out of curiosity, Jeongin tested the tightness of the restraints. 

He could barely move half a centimeter. 

Closing his eyes, he drifted slightly, harrowing images floating through his mind’s eye but never tangible enough to make his body physically repulse. When he heard the door open, his eyes fluttered open as well, his mind still slightly hazy from the headspace he had been in. Before him was the councilman, the devil, and an unfamiliar man. The latter was young, like the guards and the councilman, with dark hair and a dark shadow around his jaw where he probably had forgotten to shave. He was dressed in a white lab coat, which Jeongin had read was what doctors usually wore. The healer in the Outside never practiced such formalities. 

“Doctor Park, you know what to do,” the councilman said. The doctor glanced at him and gave him a short nod before walking toward Jeongin, and crouching before him. 

Jeongin was struck by the way his face changed completely when he was staring directly into Jeongin’s eyes. The doctor’s cold and indifferent gaze melted, his eyes softening with what appeared to be pity. A smile appeared on his face, albeit small and sad, and he spoke to Jeongin in a kind tone. “My name is Jinyoung. I work as a doctor for the government, and I’ve been instructed to conduct some tests on you today.” 

“Park, get on with it.” The apathetic voice of the councilman interrupted. Jeongin was surprised with the ire that filled Jinyoung’s eyes before he carefully constructed a calm visage and turned around. 

“Councilman, with all due respect. You ask me to conduct this awful test on a minor, knowing full well my personal morals. If I didn’t have to, I would not be doing this at all. But since I am doing this, I will do it the way I want. If you are bored of my bedside manners, feel free to excuse yourself. Otherwise, remain quiet, because right now he is my patient, not your prisoner.” 

Jeongin was struck with the impression that despite the respectful way Jinyoung addressed the councilman, Jinyoung had more power than the other. His words were politely spoken but the message behind them was a warning that Jeongin was sure the councilman would not have stayed silent at if coming from someone beneath him. 

Turning back toward Jeongin, the doctor’s pleasant smile returned. “Sorry about that. Now, where was I? Ah yes, what’s your name, dear?” 

The warmness with which Jinyoung spoke, a warmness Jeongin so painfully craved, had him opening his mouth right away. “J-Jeongin. Y-yang Jeongin, sir.” 

“Well, Jeongin, I’m sorry if you’ve been treated to such a cold welcome. I wish I could make it a little more comfortable for you and remove these restraints, but it’s for the best. Unfortunately, I’ve been instructed by someone I cannot refuse to conduct a certain test on you. It will be painful, and you’ll likely react in a visceral way and might end up hurting yourself if the restraints aren’t there. Although, I do think we can loosen them a tiny bit, hm? Those guards don’t have the same consideration I do, they just get sadistic pleasure out of tying up a kid who can’t even do anything to them if he tried.” Jinyoung said the last part under his breath as he loosened to restraints a bit, and Jeongin felt as if he was a little less away from panicking than he was a bit ago. 

Still, his mind was caught on Jinyoung’s warning of a painful test. It kept him entrenched in his fear, despite the calming presence of the doctor. “Sir, wh-what do you mean by a test?” 

Jinyoung returned to his previous position, sad eyes looking into Jeongin’s own. “Your father was a known magic user, as was your mother, apparently. The government has no interest in you, except if it turns out that you followed in your parents’ footsteps and also practiced magic illegally. There is a test that can be performed to test your body for any traces of ever having used magic. Well, rather than a test, it’s a serum that you’re going to have to drink, and the effects of it will be very painful on your body because it works… through magic.” Jinyoung rolled his eyes. “Very hypocritical, right? No magic, unless it’s the government using it, of course.” 

“Why are you… telling me this?” Jeongin was confused at the man’s brazen words. Was he not being too honest to Jeongin right now? Couldn’t he get in trouble for those words, if Jeongin decided to tell someone official about his seemingly traitorous thoughts? Not that Jeongin would, but Jinyoung didn’t know him. 

“I appreciate the concern dear,” Jinyoung’s eyes crinkled into an eye smile. “The government knows full well what I think of their hypocrisy. Fortunately, I’m too important for them to get rid of. And…” A tired smile appeared on his face. “I do their bidding anyway, even though I complain, so why would they do anything to me? I suppose that makes me a hypocrite too, but well, I digress.” Clearing his throat, Jinyoung leaned a bit closer. “It will take a bit for the test to run through your body. At the end you’ll either throw up or not, and depending on the result, we’ll know whether you’ve ever used magic or not. Very gross, I know.” 

Was he supposed to throw up, or not throw up? Jeongin wouldn’t know, but he just prayed that this anklet worked even through this weird test, and concealed the magic that ran through his body and the history of magic usage that he had only learned about hours ago. 

Hours ago… Only hours ago, he had been out in the field, biting into an apple and telling the stray dog not to snitch on him to his mother, petting the furry little thing as it lay at his side. Without Jeongin, would anyone feed the dog? Would the dog be ignored, with no one caring about his existence anymore, and left to die? 

“I… I don’t want to die,” Jeongin whimpered, the words coming out of his mouth unwittingly, perhaps coaxed out at the first sign of someone who was on his side. Jinyoung smiled sadly at him. 

“Unfortunately, the councilman is in charge of anything that happens to you as a result of the test. I wish it could be different, but I don’t have that much power. I’m sorry, Jeongin,” he reached out and patted Jeongin’s head, and the teenager couldn’t help but lean into it a bit. “I don’t know you, and for all I know you could be a rampant murderer that uses magic to kill his victims,” Jinyoung said with a joking smile on his face, “but I don’t believe that. I heard about your situation from some of the guards. You’ve just been caught up in this mess, hm?” Jeongin nodded, tears springing to his eyes. “Aish, these people, to get a kid involved like this… Really, it’s cruel, but I’ll do my best to help you, okay?” Jeongin nodded, and Jinyoung sent him a final warm smile before standing and turning to the impatient councilman. 

“I’ll be administering the test now. You must stay at the distance you are now the whole time, please do not try to get close until it is over.” 

“...Fine,” the councilman begrudgingly acknowledged. Jeongin was grateful, knowing that monster would not be close to him while he was in this vulnerable state. 

Jinyoung withdrew a large vial from his coat pocket, the liquid inside a shimmering dark green. Jeongin’s mind immediately repulsed at the unnatural appearance of it, and he half expected some visceral reaction from his own magic, before remembering it had been completely nullified by the anklet he was wearing. Hopefully the nullification would prevent his magic from being detected by this serum as well. 

“It won’t taste bad,” Jinyoung began, popping the cork top off the vial. “It will burn a bit though, going down your throat. This burn will then spread throughout your entire body. There are other possible effects as well, however it differs depending on the consumer’s body. All that really matters is that if you throw up at the end, it means you’ve used magic.” He looked up, meeting Jeongin’s eyes. “Let’s get this over with, hm?” He gave a small smile, and Jeongin reluctantly nodded. He instinctively moved to take the vial, but was met with the restriction of the restraints. “Sorry, best if I give it to you,” Jinyoung said, noticing his movement. 

Jeongin took a deep breath, his heart beating fast in his chest. This was the moment, this would determine whether he would be able to continue living and honor his mother’s sacrifice, or whether he would die in vain of her efforts. 

He opened his lips, and Jinyoung tilted the liquid into his mouth. Strangely, it didn’t taste like anything at all, just a viscous bland concoction. As Jinyoung said, it burned slightly going down his throat, and he let out a reflexive cough. At first it seemed like he wasn’t reacting to it, and he was about to question whether it was working when he felt it. 

His whole stomach burned in an instant, as if acid was eating away at his insides. His mind blacked out for a moment with how intense the pain was, and when he came to, he was fighting instinctively against the restraints, his body wanting to curl up in on itself to relieve the excruciating pain. But he couldn’t, and in an animalistic attempt to alleviate his frustration, he let out a scream. 

Despite this, the pain only got worse. It felt like every organ in his mid section was infected with this poison, as if it would soon reach his skin and burn it off his body. Any bad stomach virus he had ever suffered felt like bliss compared to this. Still, it did not stop there, soon reaching his lungs. The burning feeling there made it feel as if he had no air to breathe, and he kept gasping trying to get one successful breath. His panic made his breath short, his struggles in the restraint getting more wild, and tears leaked unwanted out of his eyes. 

Why did it hurt this much? Jeongin had apparently used magic many times without feeling any effect like this on his body at all. This must be some type of insidious magic, that went against everything that was natural and good. 

Naively, Jeongin thought that it couldn’t get worse than this. That it had to be over soon. 

He was wrong. 

His arms were struck with an odd sensation at first, like prickling, that soon increased and mimicked the feeling of bugs crawling incessantly up and down his arms. It wasn’t as blatantly painful as the reaction in his midriff and lungs, but it was just as horrid in another way. Despite his constant work in the fields, Jeongin absolutely hated bugs, and would run away if anything ever came too close to him while working. This feeling made Jeongin’s head dizzy, like he was trapped in one of his greatest fears and unable to escape. 

His legs were next, this time assaulted with what Jeongin assumed it would feel like if he broke every bone in his legs. He had never broken a bone, but suddenly he was trying his best to control his violent reactions, because every time he moved it felt like the bones in his legs were shifting against one another in the most painful way. Every small movement felt painful. 

He was stuck in this cruel loop of pain for what felt like hours, but was probably not more than five minutes. Despite his mind losing almost all sense of reality, he was just cognizant to realize that the pain, while making him feel absolutely nauseous, was not making him throw up at all. Please, please. He wasn’t sure if he was pleading for this to end, or for the end result to be as he desired. Probably both, but his mind only knew how to beg, and nothing more. 

When the suffering reached a level where he felt like he might be on the verge of death, or at least very close to passing out, it finally started to ease. First, his organs stopped burning, and he could finally draw in a deep breath, like finding an oasis of water after days of wandering a barren desert. Then, the bug-crawling sensation died down, followed by his legs feeling as if his bones had all finally been set right. It was as if nothing had even happened to him in the first place, which was valid because the reactions had been magic induced rather than actual physical pain he endured, but it was still jarring. The only evidence of his agonizing experience was the sweat that soaked his shirt and poured down his face, and the salty tears that mingled with it. 

Unclenching his fists and slowly opening his eyes, Jeongin stared at the ceiling light for a moment, because the realization settled upon him. It worked. I haven’t thrown up. I’m not going to be exposed. Thank you for this blessing, this one blessing today. 

“Jeongin-ah?” The voice of Jinyoung floated into his ears, and it took him a moment to process that he was being addressed. Despite the disappearance of the physical pain, Jeongin was still being struck by pulsating flashes of his misery. Swallowing thickly and blinking languidly, Jeongin answered belatedly with a hum, not sure if he had the wherewithal to muster actual words. 

“Have the effects disappeared?” Jeongin nodded, still not looking to his side in the direction of Jinyoung. While his head was one of the only parts of his body not affected by the serum, it was now the only part that was in pain, a throbbing headache increasing over time. He supposed it had to do with the whiplash of being in survival mode and then suddenly relaxing his tensed and panicked body and mind. “Good, good,” Jinyoung mumbled to himself, although he sounded a bit worried. “Are you okay, Jeongin?” He asked after another moment of Jeongin just staring at the light above him. It was said in a low voice. Even if the others in the room managed to hear, it was obvious that Jinyoung intended his words to be between him and Jeongin only. 

“My head hurts,” he said quietly, closing his eyes to see if the lack of light would lessen the ache. It helped a bit. 

“Mm, that is often a side effect of the more severe reactions. Just lie there for a bit, okay dear? It should wear off soon, and if not, I’ll get you some pain medication.” 

“Doctor Park.” The harsh voice of the councilman interrupted their private conversation, and Jeongin felt his body tense on instinct. 

“Councilman, you can quite obviously see the results of the serum. Please allow my patient a few minutes to himself before interrupting,” Jinyoung intercepted the councilman before he could continue. 

“Doctor Park,” he continued more sternly than before. “Your test has been concluded. If you are discontent with my intrusion, feel free to excuse yourself. Otherwise, remain quiet, because right now he is my prisoner, not your patient.” Jeongin could hear the smugness hidden behind the councilman’s cold words, the satisfaction of taking Jinyoung’s earlier insult and turning it against him. 

“He is my patient until I deem him healthy,” Jinyoung refused to back down. 

“He is not passed out nor suffering any obvious ailments other than a headache. I doubt our superiors would consider this unhealthy. Step aside before I get them involved.” 

“If you feel the need to address him, I suppose I cannot protest. But do not try to make me leave. I will remain here to make sure he doesn’t suffer one of the rare delayed side effects.” 

Jeongin heard the councilman grunt in reply, feeling the frustration in his tone and smirking slightly on the inside. 

“Look at me, boy.” Jeongin’s stomach roiled at being addressed directly by the devil, but reluctantly he opened his eyes, cringing at the harsh light, and turned his head so he was facing the councilman. The councilman’s eyes were carefully neutral, but Jeongin could see the slight downward tilt of his lips and the tenseness in his jaw. In contrast, Jinyoung stood next to him, eyebrows furrowed in concern. 

Meeting his eyes for several seconds, Councilman Jaebeom grunted and then scoffed. “So you really haven’t been practicing magic. I was sure that bitch was lying and covering for you.” What? This man… believed his mother was innocent… and shot her anyway? Jeongin’s blood boiled, and it took all his self control to bite his tongue almost to the point of bleeding in order to not say something incriminating out of anger. He really is the devil! “Now what to do with you, huh.” The words were spoken under his breath, but both Jeongin and Jinyoung heard him. 

“Eh? You brought him here, expecting him to have magic and ready to kill him, but without any backup plan as to what to do if you turned out to be wrong? How arrogant. To think that I was foolish enough to believe that you had been completely honest to our superiors. They are under the impression that you had everything under control. What, did you tell them that you had someone you knew had magic, but you just needed to check and confirm?” Jinyoung eyebrows furrowed, as if deducing something too late. “You could have requested me to come to the Outside and administer the test out there, but now that he’s on the Inside, you can’t send him back. You acted rashly simply because you wanted to.” Jinyoung gauged the reaction of the councilman, which was a sharp glare but no denial. It made Jeongin wonder just why he couldn’t be sent back to the Outside, but he supposed they might be afraid of him spreading propaganda about his mistreatment and the disparity in quality of life between here and there. They weren’t wrong, but what difference could a teenager like himself really make? 

“But you can’t let him go either,” Jinyoung continued, his eyes lighting up in realization. “Because if he speaks about his experience to the people of the Inside, they might realize their precious government is not as moral as they believe.” He scoffed in disbelief. “What, so was this some type of ego-fulfillment? Prove to our superiors that you had caught not one, but two magic users? Get some type of praise from them, some sort of promotion?” 

“Oh shut up, Jinyoung,” the councilman spat back, losing the cool composure that he usually carried himself with. “Cut this moral high ground shit. I’m sick of hearing it.” 

“This is far beyond me and my values, and you know it. Your selfish actions have created a potential problem for the sanctity of government affairs. Not that I personally care, but as your superior, I have no choice to report this. And find a way to fix your mess.” 

“Report this?!” Jinyoung’s words infuriated Councilman Jaebeom, the latter taking a step toward the doctor as if wanting to grab him by the collar, but refraining at the last moment. “You can’t be serious. Anyone could have made this mistake.” 

“True,” Jinyoung started off, tone aloof, “But considering you’ve wrongly identified someone before out of your own desire for recognition… I don’t believe they’ll be as forgiving this time, when they learn the truth.” 

“You think this piece of shit is worth more than my career? You know how much I’ve done for this administration. We’ll just do what we did last time and kill this country hick, tell them the test said he was a magic user. No one will miss him, and all our problems will be solved.” Jeongin revolted at the words, only just realizing that he was still bound by the restraints and couldn’t run even if he wanted. Please, no. I couldn’t have come all this way only for my road to end here. 

“That will not be happening,” Jinyoung said coldly, the words warming up Jeongin’s heart. “I was only an assistant when that happened, I couldn’t protest if I wanted. You were lucky that Doctor Lee supported you back then, kept your secret. And that I’ve kept it since, because I believed there was no point in exposing something whose consequence could not be changed. But you won’t get that backing from me anymore. It isn’t below me to reveal your past mistakes to them now. Yang Jeongin is staying alive, and if it has to be under my protection and watchful eye, then so be it.” 

“That’s ridiculous. How are you going to explain suddenly having a kid under your care, that doesn’t understand a thing about the Inside? As if our superiors would agree to this. You’re out of your mind, Jinyoung.” 

“As for your first point, it’s null and void. He’ll simply be a relative that’s moved in with me, and he doesn’t have to interact with others until he is familiar with the Inside. Your other point… Well, I’m sure they’ll be willing to pick the lesser of two evils. And considering that I would not stay silent about their misdeeds if they chose to kill an innocent kid, well. I think it’s obvious they would concede. ” 

“Or they could just kill you too.” 

“You really believe they’d do that?” Councilman Jaebeom stayed silent. “Exactly. I’m more valuable to them than you are, no matter how high you regard yourself. So don’t challenge me on this. I will be taking the kid with me, and reporting your actions to the higher ups. Accept the consequences of your actions, and I’ll recommend that they only punish you rather than permanently suspend you.” 

Jinyoung seemed to be done with the conversation, turning to Jeongin and huffing as he worked to undo the restraints. “Are you feeling better now?” Dazed by the conversation but generally feeling better. Jeongin nodded. 

“My headache is almost gone,” he said shyly, still very much aware of the fuming presence of Councilman Jaebeom behind them. As soon as the restraints were undone, Jeongin sat up, eyeing the councilman nervously, who had been crossing his arms and burning his gaze into Jinyoung’s back. He seemed to notice Jeongin’s stare and huffed before stomping off. 

“Guards, come with me,” he spat as he left, the two men at the door stoically following him. As soon as the door slammed shut behind him, Jinyoung let out a sigh of relief. 

“I’m sorry that you had to sit through that. It must have been scary, hearing your life discussed so indifferently.” 

“Yes, but… It felt like you were on my side the entire time, so I was thankful. If you hadn’t been here, I’m sure I would have ended up… like my mother.” He choked the last words out, and Jinyoung sent him a sympathetic smile. 

“Jaebeom is one of the most stubborn people here. He confidently leads the anti-magic movement amongst the employees, but in reality, there are a lot of us who don’t believe in such harsh treatment like death. There is a sort of internal battle at the moment between the two major government parties, with the majority in charge wanting to maintain a harsh approach toward so called heretics, but with the opposition advocating for a more reformative and lenient program. It’s why Jaebeom knows he can’t do much to me. He may be given pretty free reign to act as he wants under the current people in power, but I’m a prominent member of the reformative party. I’m also respected by the party in charge because of my work, so it’s a delicate situation. Elections are approaching somewhat soon, and if anything were to happen to me before that, it might become a political scandal that swings the public over to my party’s side.” 

It all went a bit over Jeongin’s head, but he nodded anyway. He understood the gist of it, anyway. 

“Are you really gonna… take me in?” Jeongin asked quietly, peeking up from under his eyelashes to assess Jinyoung’s face. 

“Of course, I said I would, didn’t I?” 

“But… why? You barely know me. You don’t seem that old yourself, why would you take in a random eighteen year old boy?” 

“I may only be twenty four, but I actually took care of my younger cousin for most of my adult life, after his parents passed away. He recently became an adult and moved off on his own, and the house has felt lonely without him. More than that, of course, is that if I didn’t look after you, no one would. I couldn’t have that on my conscience. It isn’t right, and you’ve obviously gone through a lot. It isn’t a burden on me, so don’t worry about it.” 

“I… thank you, so much, sir. I would be dead or on the streets without your help,” Jeongin felt grateful tears well up in his eyes, and he leapt off the table only to give the doctor a full ninety degree bow. Jinyoung reacted immediately, pushing Jeongin up by his shoulder. 

“Ah, ah, none of that! And no need to call me sir. You can call me hyung, okay?” Jinyoung offered him a warm smile. 

“A-alright… hyung.” Jinyoung looked pleased, so Jeongin ignored the slight awkwardness he felt. 

“Let’s get going, hm? I’m done for the day, and I’m sure you’re hungry and exhausted.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading, i appreciate it so much ♡ sorry if the endings ever seem abrupt, i didn't write these in chapters, i wrote it all as one big piece so it was kind of hard to find natural breaks. 
> 
> if you enjoyed it or have any thoughts please leave a comment, they really motivate me so it would mean the world to me ◡̈ stay safe and healthy everyone!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jeongin goes home with Jinyoung, but the trouble is far from over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone!!! thank you so much to everyone who is reading 🥺 i appreciate you soooo much 💕💞💓💗💖💘💝 and to everyone that left kudos, subscribed, and commented, thank you, you give me the motivation to continue!!! 
> 
> i'm sorry if things seem to be moving slowly since there's no other stray kids members here yet, but they have their important roles and will show up one by one! the first will be jisung, and he'll be in chapter five, so please look forward to it! in the meantime, enjoy this chapter!! ♡

Jinyoung placed a gentle hand on Jeongin’s back, guiding him out of the room and through the building. Jeongin kept his head down, because he could feel the intense stares of guards and other workers following them the whole time, glad that Jinyoung led him the entire way. They eventually reached an underground floor filled with cars, and if Jeongin could recall correctly from books, this was a parking garage.

“My car is this one,” and Jeongin finally looked up as they arrived at a sleek black car. Jinyoung took in Jeongin’s curious face, and a conclusion dawned on him. “Right, you don’t have cars on the Outside, do you? Tomorrow, when we’re both much less tired, I'll tell you all about them, okay?” Jeongin shyly nodded. He had never had any older sibling figure, but if this was what it was like, it must be nice. Having anyone to still look after him and care for him was nice.

Jinyoung opened the passenger door for Jeongin, and the younger slipped in, looking around to admire the vehicle. He hadn’t exactly been in the right mind when he was in the truck earlier, so it was like seeing a car for the first time. It seemed pretty weird to him, but it was probably really convenient since the city seemed so big. He and his mother had always liked walking, the pleasantness of stretching their legs, chatting, and enjoying the ever present pleasant breeze. _I’ll… I’ll never get to do that with her again._ He clenched his fists. _Stop thinking like this, you’re gonna make yourself cry in front of the nice doctor. Hold it in, hold it in._

Jinyoung started the car up, turning on a knob in the central console that made music come out. Ah, it must have been a radio. Jeongin and his mother had never owned one, getting their news from weekly papers, but one of his neighbors had once bragged about owning such a device. All of the music Jeongin had heard in the Outside was performed live, acoustically, so what was coming out of Jinyoung’s radio seemed very different, but also very pleasant. 

The car ride was silent otherwise because Jeongin kept nodding off. His eyes would close and his head would fall forward till his chin was touching his chest, but he kept jolting awake. Every time he came close to sleeping, his mind would be assaulted with the image of his mother’s lifeless body. He missed his mother so much already, but at the same time, being reminded of her was some type of torture, remembering how powerless he had been and evoking thoughts of what he regretted and how he would never be with her again. He wanted to think about her and remember her, but at the same time, he wanted to try and ignore the reality of her death at all costs, and avoid thinking about her.

 _How am I gonna sleep tonight…_ His thoughts were interrupted with Jinyoung softly announcing “we’re here,” to which Jeongin looked up and studied where they had ended up. 

The ride had been about 15 minutes, and it had taken them to a quieter part of the city. There were several trees planted outside here, some potted plants on doorsteps, and cute brick townhouses snuggled next to each other down the entirety of the street. The townhouse Jeongin and Jinyoung were parked in the driveway of had a welcome mat in the front, with a cute cartoon cat. Jinyoung opened his car door, and Jeongin figured out how to do the same on his side, sliding out and closing it behind him.

“This is where I’ve lived for a while. It’s pretty nice, and I can afford it thanks to my job. Most of the city is apartments, but this section is filled with old townhouses that never got knocked down. Some of them have different tenants on different floors, but my partner and I occupy this entire one since it’s smaller than most.”

“Partner?”

“Ah, yes. I live with my boyfriend of seven years. He’s very understanding and sweet, I’m sure he’ll love you. He works from home, so he’ll probably be the one taking care of any homeschooling and learning you do. He’s an author, so he makes his own hours.”

Before, Jeongin would have been so excited to meet an author. He loved reading and really wanted to try writing something as well. Now all he could do was nod, a numb feeling running through him like a current. 

“Ah, his name is Mark, but you can call him hyung as well.” Jeongin nodded again, offering Jinyoung a smile that was appreciative and apologetic, hoping Jinyoung understood his lack of enthusiasm. 

Jinyoung typed a password into the keypad, and then opened the door, motioning for Jeongin to follow him in. They took their shoes off at the door. Jeongin’s were still filled with a little dirt from the field, and he stared sadly at the sediment that spilled slightly on the floor. 

“Hyung, I’m home!”

Moments later another older male appeared in the main hallway, at first smiling brightly but then looking confusedly between Jinyoung and Jeongin. Jeongin awkwardly turned his gaze toward the ground, sure this man would go off about the random appearance of a kid— “Ah, it seems we have a guest? Please make yourself comfortable!” Jeongin looked up in surprise at the warm tone of the man, a wide smile back on his face as his light brown dyed hair flopped with his enthusiastic movements.

“I’m gonna get Jeongin here washed up, and then we need to talk hyung,” Jinyoung said in a kind but serious voice. The other man — Mark — spared Jeongin a quick glance but kept the cheerful facade on his face as he nodded in response.

“I’ll finish up cooking, so come to the kitchen when you’re ready to talk.”

Jinyoung led Jeongin up a flight of stairs, bringing him to a room in the middle of the upstairs hallway. “This is our guestroom, there’s a bathroom attached. I’m gonna go grab some pajamas you can change into and some towels, I’ll be right back.”

As Jinyoung left, Jeongin took in the room and couldn’t help but make comparisons to the house that he had known his entire life. This townhouse was still cozy, it didn’t have the sleek modern feeling of the buildings he had seen before, but it still felt much less comforting compared to what Jeongin was used to. There were so many doors and walls and things that separated, whereas his mother and him had always appreciated the openness of their one room home. He felt fearful, thinking of being in this room alone, sleeping alone with no one there to comfort him if he had a nightmare, or talk to him when he had trouble falling asleep. 

_You don’t get to worry about those things. Those are luxuries. You’re living, be grateful,_ Jeongin told himself. Still, despite the warm glow of the sunset that came through the window and the cute plushies piled up to make the bed look inviting, Jeongin couldn’t fool himself into thinking this was enough, couldn’t trick himself into being indifferent. _Really Jeongin, you’re lucky to have someplace to stay. Stop complaining, your feelings don’t matter right now._ He had to clench his fists to stop the onset of tears, frustrated with how emotional he was being about something so stupid. 

“Here you go,” Jinyoung’s voice interrupted his thoughts, and Jeongin turned to see him reentering the room with a fluffy light blue towel and folded pajamas in his arms. ”You look to be around the same size as Mark hyung so they should fit.” He placed the pile on the bed. “Do you think you’ll need help with the shower?”

Jeongin shook his head. “I’ll be fine, thank you.” The Outside wasn’t so neglected that they didn’t have showers, although the ones here would probably be much nicer.

“I’ll be downstairs then, come down when you’re done, okay?” Jinyoung smiles and left the room, leaving Jeongin to himself for the first time since… since he had been in the fields this morning. 

On autopilot, Jeongin tried to focus his thoughts on every little thing he was doing. Anything he could to avoid the sadness that was threatening to engulf him. _Okay, I’m taking off my overalls. Next my t-shirt and underwear. One sock, two socks. Let’s go check out the bathroom. One step, two step, three step, this hardwood floor is pretty nice. Ah, of course the bathroom is like this. It looks so nice, is this marble? No, don’t look in that mirror, you don’t want to see yourself Jeongin. What are these two switches here…? Ah! The lights went off! Turn it back on, turn it back on! Oh, so this one turns on a fan. Better keep that running so the bathroom doesn’t steam up. Or maybe better to keep it off so the mirror will be fogged up and I won’t have to look at myself… yeah, let’s do that._

This continued while he relieved his bodily needs, washed himself, dried himself, dressed himself. This constant stream of thoughts kept him from breaking down in the shower, along with the water that he had made scaldingly hot in order to distract himself.

 _Just wait till you’re in bed tonight, then you can cry Jeongin. You don’t want Jinyoung hyung and Mark hyung to see your puffy eyes. Look grateful, come on!_

The pajamas weren’t really pajamas, but that comforted Jeongin some bit, because it was what he was used to. A pale pink shirt with a graphic design on it, a pair of cuffed grey sweatpants, and some white house slippers. _Remember to thank Mark hyung for these. If you aren’t grateful enough they could kick you out._

Jeongin wasn’t really sure what to do with his dirty clothes, so he decided to just fold them and leave them in the corner of the room. As he was doing so, a sudden recollection made his breath catch in his throat. _The photo of my parents!_ Frantically Jeongin tossed his pile of clothes around until he grabbed the pant legs of his overalls, hoping the thick roll of the jean material would have kept the photo snuggly in there despite his movement. His fingers finally brushed against the stock paper material of the photo, and Jeongin let out a sigh of relief, pulling the folded photo out. He hesitated, almost unfolding it to look at it, but decided against it. It would just make him cry, he was sure of it. 

Looking around the room, he saw a side table next to the bed. _Should I leave the photo there? Maybe Jinyoung hyung has a picture frame I could use…_ Still, a part of him was on edge, still worried that he might be kicked out at any moment if he made the wrong move. _I’ll keep it on me for now. Just until I know it’s safe here._ Jeongin rolled up the ends of his cuffed sweatpants, thickly so it would fit the photo, and snuggled it in between the fabric. Jumping up and down a bit to test whether it would stay, Jeongin was satisfied when it barely shifted. 

Making his way downstairs, Jeongin half expected the conversation he heard flowing from the kitchen to suddenly stop, as if they were talking about him and his appearance made them awkwardly halt. That wasn’t the case though, because they kept talking as Jeongin walked toward the room where their voices were coming from, the conversation obviously about dinner. 

“Nyoungie, stop bothering me and go set the table!” Mark was whining when Jeongin entered. Jinyoung was reaching around Mark and using a spoon to taste test whatever was in the pot on the stove. He looked like he was about to respond when he noticed Jeongin standing hesitantly in the doorway.

“Ah Jeongin! Please, take a seat.” Jinyoung gestured to the circular dinner table that was close to Jeongin, where three seats were arranged around it. “You can sit in the chair closest to the window, if you’d like.”

Jeongin obliged, but hesitated before he sat down fully. “Is there anything I can do to help?” 

“No, we’re just about done,” Jinyoung replies, a soft smile on his face. “Thank you though, dear.” Jeongin just nodded and took his seat, watching as Mark and Jinyoung worked like a well oiled machine, smoothly dancing their way around their kitchen in order to get everything they needed for the meal. Jinyoung came over to set the table while Mark seemed to be taking a final taste test of the food in the pot. 

“Ah!” Jinyoung suddenly exclaimed as he was pouring Jeongin some water. “I forgot to ask, how stupid of me. Jeongin, do you have any food allergies or food you can’t eat?” 

“Oh, no, not that I know of. But our diet was pretty limited, so there might be something I haven’t tried that I’m allergic to?”

“That’s right, you only ate food that came from your own crops and livestock right?” Jinyoung hummed to himself, and then turned back to look at Mark. “Do you need help bringing anything over, honey?”

“Yeah, just grab a few of the side dishes and we’ll be good.” Mark proceeded to carry the pot of food over to the table, setting it on a hot pad. He took a seat and immediately stared right into Jeongin’s eyes, a bright smile lighting up his face. “Sorry for the late introduction, Jeongin. I’m Mark, please feel free to call me hyung. I heard you’ll be staying with us so if there’s anything I can do to make things more comfortable, please let me know!”

Jeongin was a bit taken aback by Mark’s friendliness, and briefly wondered if he was being duped by the kind pair that was Jinyoung and Mark. “Ah-- thank you... hyung. I promise I won’t be a bother.” Jeongin bowed politely, just as Jinyoung finished bringing all the side dishes over. 

“Don’t worry, Jeongin-ah,” Jinyoung reassured. Jeongin’s focus, however, was completely on the food. Only once it was in front of him did he realize how ravenous he felt. He had an apple this morning, but that was it. Usually he would have had a light lunch with his mother by now, and would probably be preparing to head in from the fields after a long day of work in order to help his mother prepare dinner. His stomach growled in anticipation, the foods all familiar. Cabbage kimchi, radish kimchi, steamed eggs, tofu, and cucumber salad. Each place setting had an individual bowl of rice, and an empty soup bowl. In the pot in the middle there seemed to be seolleongtang. It wasn’t something Jeongin ate often, since his mother didn’t like the flavor that came from the ox bones, but she would make it for him sometimes cause she knew he liked it. 

Jeongin was glad that Jinyoung and Mark made traditional Goryo food, because that was what he was used to. Goryo, long in the past, had been a meeting place of other cultures, due to its status as one of the most technologically advanced city-states, or at least Jeongin had read so in his few history books. Jeongin didn’t know much about their current state of affairs, how involved Goryo was in worldly affairs, because the newspaper and news didn’t talk about it that often. He did know that the foods of other territories were prevalent in modern Goryo cuisine, due to the small pockets of immigrants that had once come to live here. The main influences were from Miguk, Jungguk, and Ilbon, among a few others, and reflected not only in the food but also in other parts of life as well. Jeongin could tell, for example, that Mark’s ancestors were probably from Migguk because of his name. He wondered if Mark knew how to make Miguk cuisine. For now though, his mouth was almost frothing at the wonderful looking traditional food in front of him.

Jinyoung and Mark had taken their seats, so Jeongin took the chance to thank them for the food. “I will eat well!” He said politely, and the two nodded. When Mark, the eldest, picked up his chopsticks, Jinyoung and Jeongin followed. Jinyoung attentively served Jeongin some of the soup before he served himself, which Jeongin protested, but the elder just waved him off.

For the most part, they ate without much conversation, which Jeongin appreciated. He could feel Mark’s eyes on him, as if he wanted to talk, but Jeongin guessed that Jinyoung had clued the eldest into what had happened today, making him give Jeongin some space. 

Despite how friendly Mark seemed, Jeongin was glad. If he had to talk much more, he was sure he’d start breaking down, and he needed to wait until he was alone for him to be able to do that. Mark and Jinyoung made quiet small talk with each other, but Jeongin just let it filter through one ear, his brain determining whether it was worthy regarding or not, and mostly deciding no, it was not, sending it right back out through his other ear.

The food was good, but it tasted different than the way his mother and him used to make it. _Is this normal? For everything to remind me of her?_ Jeongin wondered, sighing as he chewed his food. _Is this how ma lived after my father died? She never seemed unhappy to me… What a burden it must have been. Or maybe it hurts less as the years go on…_

As each person around the table started to slow down their eating, Jinyoung finally addressed Jeongin. “Jeongin-ah, I know today has been… well, a mess would be an extreme understatement. It’s best we get some basics down soon, but we didn’t want to bother you tonight. Would you be up to talking tomorrow, or do you think you’ll need more time?”

 _If I say I need more time, will that annoy them? Will they want to get rid of me?_ “Tomorrow is fine.”

“Okay, good. Sleep for as long as you want, I’ll be at work from 6am until 3pm, so we’ll talk once I’m back. Mark will be here all day, so just let him know when you’re awake so he can get you some food, okay?” Jeongin nodded obediently, even though he really didn’t feel like having to speak up. That strange feeling was starting to return to his body again, where he almost felt like he wasn’t himself anymore. Was it possible for his heart to feel pain like this? It hurt so much that briefly, Jeongin thought, _It might be better if I just didn’t exist,_ and that scared him.

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom, and then we can clean up,” Mark announced, getting up out of his chair and leaving the room. After hearing a door shut, Jeongin awkwardly pushed a few things around his plate with his chopsticks, not wanting to look eager to talk.

“Jeongin--’ Jinyoung began, trying to start a conversation anyway, when there was an aggressive series of knocks on the door. A bemused look fell on Jinyoung’s face. “Eh? Who would be visiting? Especially this late…” His eyebrows furrowed, and he seemed slightly concerned as he walked quietly toward their front door. Peaking through the peephole, Jinyoung startled, and when he turned back toward Jeongin, his expression was grim.

He rushed over back toward Jeongin, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him up from his seat. “Eh--eh? Hyung, what’s--” Jeongin wasn’t speaking loudly at all, but Jinyoung still covered his mouth with his hand, sending him a meaningful look as he tugged Jeongin toward the back of the house, speaking to him quietly.

“That bastard… Jaebeom’s sent his thugs here. He’s probably desperate and willing to do anything to keep me from getting him in trouble and ruining his reputation. And I have a feeling he’s after you as well.”

“If he’s after me, I… I don’t want you to get in trouble, hyung. If I go to them peacefully--” Jinyoung shook his head, standing still once he and Jeongin were just in front of the back door.

“As I said, he’s out for me too. Those guys at my door, they’re armed. They’re not here to take anyone quietly, if I know Jaebeom and his followers. You have to leave. It’s the only way for you to be safe.”

“Me? What about you and--” Jeongin was cut off by a series of harder knocks, flinching at the sound.

“They’re getting impatient, there’s no time to waste. They’ll force their way in soon. I can’t run away, Mark hyung… he’s not physically well, he can’t run like you or I could. We’d be overtaken by them too quickly. I’m gonna get him, hide, and call the police. You’re gonna run.”

“But hyung--!”

“No buts. If you’re appreciative of what I’ve done for you, please listen to me right now.” It was a harsh way to get Jeongin to agree, but the younger boy begrudgingly nodded.

“Take this,” Jinyoung slid a ring off his finger, took Jeongin’s hand into his own bigger one, and placed it in his palm. “Go seek safety with my cousin. His name is Bang Chan. He’ll protect you when he sees the ring, he knows it’s mine. He’s in District 9, it isn’t too far. We’re in District 7 right now.” Jinyoung withdrew his hand and smiled melancholically. “I’ll see you soon, Jeongin-ah. Now go.”

Reluctantly, Jeongin opened the back door, and when he looked back and saw Jinyoung rushing toward the bathroom to grab Mark, he was surprised to find tears in his eyes. Had he really gotten attached to Jinyoung that quickly? Or was it just the terrifying situation that was making him like this?

There was no time to consider. He closed the door behind him, looking suspiciously around the alleyway in between houses that he had emerged in for any of Jaebeom’s men that might have come around back. It didn’t seem like any had, and Jeongin was about to run away when he heard it.

A gun shot.

Jeongin’s body instinctively started shaking, completely frozen as his mind was caught in a flashback of the other time he had heard that sound. He weakly fell to the ground, his stomach roiling as the memory of his mother being shot played out over and over in his mind.

The memory was interrupted by the sound of another gun shot, and Jeongin shakily forced himself to stand up again, battling the burning of stomach acid trying to make its way up his throat. He knew he should get away, run -- that’s what Jinyoung had wanted -- but he couldn’t help it. He turned around and peaked through the back window.

The scene he was met with made him bend over and throw up all the food he had just consumed.

A group of four men had been standing with their guns pointed at the floor. Pointed at Jinyoung. Pointed at Jinyoung’s body.

_No, no… Why is this happening? Please, don’t let him be dead, please, please…_

Against what he knew he should be doing, Jeongin looked one last time through the window. The men had dispersed and seemed to be searching around.

And Jinyoung… he wasn’t moving. Blood was seeping out of his stomach and chest, his eyes closed and head lolled to the side. And no matter how long Jeongin stared… his chest didn’t seem to rise or fall.

Stumbling backwards and wiping the bile from his mouth, Jeongin body started to work on autopilot again. He didn’t want to run, no, he wanted to rush back in there and shake Jinyoung’s body and plead for him to _please be alive._ But it was pointless… He wasn’t breathing. There was no way around it. He was… he was… _I can’t even stomach the word,_ Jeongin thought.

If Jeongin went back in there, he’d be dead too. And not only would that be a selfish decision in order to sooth his own grief instead of living on like his mother wanted him to, but it would also be nullifying Jinyoung’s death. Jinyoung would not have been in this situation if he had let Jeongin die, or thrown him to the streets. Jinyoung might have had more time to hide if he had not spent so much telling Jeongin what to do next. 

It was Jeongin’s fault that Jinyoung died, and the least he could do was honor Jinyoung’s last wish for him.

Which was _run._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how was this chapter? if you have any thoughts, please leave a comment! i would really appreciate it ♡ 
> 
> i had fun including got7 members in this so i hope y'all are enjoying it too!! also for the part about the food, the country names are all based off of korean words for certain countries. miguk is america, ilbon is Japan, and jungguk is china. 
> 
> thank u all for reading, I appreciate it so much!! ◡̈


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jeongin tries to figure out what to do next... and meets someone else who is willing to help him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> back with another update! this is the last full chapter that i have prepared (i'm halfway through writing the next chapter), so with that in mind as well as me going back to school, updates may be a little less frequent ): i'll try and keep it updated as much as possible though!!!
> 
> thank you soooooo much to everyone who has left kudos, bookmarked, and commented. i can't tell you enough how much it motivates and inspires me as a writer. seriously, seeing all the comments after I posted the last chapter made me emotional 🥺 i can't express in words how much those comments made my day!! my lovely readers, i hope i don't disappoint and that this continues to be a story that is enjoyable to read ♡

All he could feel was a sort of numbness icing over his heart, his feet slamming on the pavement, the cool night air pushing through his hair. He stumbled at some point, losing one of his slippers, but didn’t bother taking the time to retrieve it. He couldn’t stop, he needed to keep going. He didn’t have any clue of where he was going, all that mattered was that he got away as fast as he could. He would figure out the whole district thing later.

He barely paid attention to his surroundings as he ran, his eyes straight forward but nearly unseeing as panic had overtaken most of his focus. He did notice it change slightly, the townhouses giving way into the type of buildings he had seen earlier in the city, skyscrapers made out of sleek material he was unfamiliar with, blinding neon lights hurting his eyes. 

Jeongin didn’t really have any plan of action, he was just running where he could without stopping. He may never have been in a city before, but he wasn’t unaware of certain things due to the books he grew up reading. He knew what it meant he saw a group of people waiting at the end of a sidewalk and staring at a sign with a red hand on it, cars whizzing by even at the late time of the night. At these points he would just turn instead of going straight, effectively losing himself in the maze of the city.

If people thought it was weird to see a boy in a t-shirt and sweatpants, running half barefoot through the city at this time of night, Jeongin didn’t notice. They might have been staring, maybe not, but no one was yelling after him, and that was all that mattered. 

Despite the physical labor of working in the fields, Jeongin wasn’t used to long distance cardio, and soon enough he could feel his lungs burning with exhaust. He wasn’t sure how far away he had gotten, but his brain was yelling at him that this was not enough, he had to keep going. It was probably a mix of the adrenaline and his fight or flight response that made him think this way, but Jeongin listened, pushing forward even as his exposed skin prickled with goosebumps at the cold, even as one of his feet starting burning with some sharp pain, even as his breaths came shuddering in. 

He couldn’t stop.

He wouldn’t stop, not until his body shut down on him.

At some point, his mind registered that the surroundings were slightly different again, still many tall and strange looking buildings, but they didn’t look as grand, and there weren’t many neon lights anymore. Instead the buildings each looked a bit more modest, and the painful lights were replaced by warm yellow glows. It didn’t seem like there were as many people around here. 

Was that good or bad? It could go either way. Maybe strangers would help if one of Jaebeom’s men caught up with him, and would question why some adults were going after a kid. On the other hand, this might be an area of the city that is more residential, and those men might not think to look for him here. He could turn around and try to go back to that busy part (Shopping district? Party district? He wasn’t quite sure, but it didn’t really matter), but his guts revolted at the thought of retracing his steps.

Continuing forward was all he could do.

Jeongin kept running until one of his legs actually gave out under him, taking him by surprise as his body slammed painfully on the ground, just managing to throw his hands out in front of him to prevent his head from hitting the concrete first. He could feel the burn against his palms immediately, and was sure some skin must have come off, but that wasn’t his immediate concern. The wind had been absolutely knocked out of him, and he simply lay there on the street struggling to breathe. His whole body ached, and he felt as if his head was stuffed with cotton. Attempting to get back up and keep running, Jeongin tried pushing himself up, but his arms simply shook and he collapsed again.

_No… No… You have to keep running. Keep going…_

But his body refused. Frustrated and pained tears welled up in his eyes as he looked around, trying to see if anyone was running at him with angry looks on their faces, but there was barely anyone on the streets. Through the cars indifferently driving by, he spotted an older looking woman walking quickly across the street, clinging tightly to her bag as she looked suspiciously in Jeongin’s direction a few times. In front of him, there were a few people’s backs walking further away from him, and behind him, no one.

He was safe. For now. 

But what could he do when he couldn’t even move? If he could get to a phone, or borrow someone’s, he could call the police. That was what people in novels did at least, when bad people were after them. But what if the police were in collusion with Jaebeom’s side of the government? He couldn’t be sure, and he wasn’t going to risk just taking a guess.

He could try and find this District Nine, of course, but from a quick glance of the street signs around him, nothing gave away anything about districts straight away. Asking someone would probably be the best answer, but also risky. Public transport would probably have maps, if they were anything like the ones he read about, but he had no way of paying for it. How would he even get one of those card things that people seem to swipe? 

Besides, in his current condition, he wasn’t really ready to go running around the city in search of some unknown person and place.

What if he found a hospital and checked himself in? He could give them a fake name, and how would Jaebeom and his men find him then? _Stupid,_ he denied almost immediately. _There’s bound to be cameras there. That’s why heroes always have that one friend that’s like the medic for them, cause they can’t go to normal hospitals. Plus, they could just go around to the hospitals asking for young boys that have just been admitted, and I don’t know whether the hospitals have to legally provide that information to them or not._

Jeongin felt proud for a moment, because if not for his thirst of knowledge and consequential love of reading, he would not be thinking through things as thoroughly as he was now. Of course, he was basing his guesses of the real world off of fiction, but that was better than just walking into anything blindly. Jaebeom and his men probably thought him stupid, probably thought they would catch him dumbly staring at a street ligt or running into traffic.

 _Not me,_ Jeongin thought, pushing himself up again, ignoring the way his muscles wanted to give up, _I’m smarter than you think. I’m a survivor._

The little bit of rest he had when thinking had been enough to spur his body into motion again. But what to do? Realistically he couldn’t run or even walk much more, he really needed to just find somewhere to rest and regain energy.

There was no one to trust right now. In the morning he could seek out a big crowd of people and take a gamble on the person that looked the most trustworthy, ask them about District Nine. That way, if they turned on him, there could potentially be people in the crowd that would stand up for the bedraggled looking boy. 

For the night, he would just have to find somewhere he could rest, out of the sight of others. Jeongin needed sleep, his body had pushed itself too far and the adrenaline was wearing off, but it wasn’t like he could just pick a random building and sleep inside there. He’d surely be kicked out or even reported to the police. He hadn’t seen any parks on the way here, so that wasn’t an option either. Even if he hated the idea, Jeongin begrudgingly realized he would just have to find an alleyway that looked hidden away enough and also had something he could hide himself in or behind. His body was slightly repulsed at the thought of hiding amongst trash, but he pushed that instinctive feeling away. _Nothing is below you at this moment. Suck it up, Jeongin._ Still, as he limped toward the nearest alleyway, he had to bite his lip to hold back his tears.

The alleyway was dark and slim, connecting two streets with a chain link fence in the middle. There were a few doors on the side, leading into the buildings, with dumpsters outside of each. Jeongin stumbled toward the dumpster farthest from the alleyway entrance, in the darkest part of the alley. Collapsing against the side that wasn’t facing the street, Jeongin felt all his remaining energy seep out of him.

Without the adrenaline, everything seemed to be heightened. The pounding in his head, the exhaustion in his bones. He didn’t think he could stand up again even if he wanted to. His lungs were burning, and even as he took in gulping breaths of air, it didn’t help. Looking down at his palms, he saw they were as bad as he thought, half the skin ripped up and bleeding slightly. His knees had also taken damage from the fall, scraped up but protected from the sweatpant fabric, which was now ripped at the impact site. His clothes were soiled with sweat, and he was sure they would stink after spending a night beside this dumpster. 

His left foot was now throbbing in pain, and Jeongin was surprised to discover a large piece of glass lodged in it, blood seeping out. The sight immediately made him nauseous, which was probably exacerbated by how much he had pushed his body, and he had to physically swallow bile that pushed its way up his throat.

Should he just pull the glass out? There was no other way to do it, but Jeongin really didn’t want to. It would hurt… _Stop being like that Jeongin. This pain is nothing compared to what ma and Jinyoung-hyung went through._

Taking a few deep breaths to brace himself, Jeongin attempted to still the shakiness in his hands, before biting down on his left hand and using his right hand to get a hold of the glass piece. Closing his eyes and leaning his head back to rest against the wall, he counted down from three and pulled--

“Eugh!” The sound of pain was muffled by the hand he was biting down on, but Jeongin still couldn’t help exclaiming loudly as he pulled the glass out. It was embedded deeper than he had thought, and it almost didn’t come out with one pull, but Jeongin forced himself to keep pulling, knowing he would not be brave enough for a second attempt.

As soon as the glass left his foot, discarded on the ground, blood started coming faster out of the wound, and Jeongin thought he almost passed out with how lightheaded he suddenly got. 

Steeling himself, Jeongin quickly teared at the fabric at the bottom of his t-shirt. It was a little long on him anyway, so he didn’t care about ripping away a large amount of it. Thankfully it ripped easily, and he rushed to press it to the cut. _You’re supposed to put pressure on wounds, right? If I press hard enough for long enough, it should slow the bleeding, right?_ He proceeded to keep it pressed against the wound until the fabric was soaked with blood. At that point, thankfully, the bleeding seemed to have slowed down alot, so he ripped another piece of his shirt and wrapped it tightly around his sole. Tying the fabric, Jeongin felt a tear drip down his face. _I am so utterly out of my depth._

It was with this thought, and the image of his mother’s last moment tattooing itself in his mind, that Jeongin passed out in the alleyway, his body desperately in need of rest.

Jeongin awoke to the startling sensation of someone shaking his body. He was never the type to be sluggish or unaware when he woke up, always quick to rise, so before he even opened his eyes, he was on the defense. It likely wasn’t Jaebeom or his men, because they would be dragging him away or killing him rather than trying to wake him up, but that didn’t mean this person had good intentions. 

Preparing himself mentally, Jeongin took a second before finally opening his eyes and attempting to wrench his body away from the stranger. He was apparently weaker than he thought, because even though the stranger was a young woman that was more petite than him, he couldn’t escape her grip.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” she spoke to him with a calming tone, as if talking to a wounded animal. “I’m sorry for startling you, I wanted to check if you were okay. To be honest, I thought you might not be alive.” The woman, who appeared to be in her mid twenties, smiled kindly at him, relaxing her grip a little but not enough where Jeongin could easily get away.

“Who are you,” he asked, his voice intoned with guardedness and hostility that had never been there before. “What do you want with me?” Her eyes softened at the questions, and she gave him a look up and down before answering.

“I’m Momo, honey. I live in this building,” she cocked her head toward the building the dumpster was against, “and came to throw out some trash when I saw a body by the dumpster. I was scared at first, but I noticed you were just a kid, so I became really worried. What are you doing here, hun? Why aren’t you home with your parents?” She gave him another up and down, as if wanting to ask about his state, but withholding herself from the possibly sensitive question for the moment.

Jeongin hesitated. This Momo lady seemed nice, but he had to keep his cards close to his chest. He couldn’t go trusting anyone, not at this point. It was for his own self preservation. “I… can’t go home.” That was vague enough, right? He could just be some temperamental runaway kid. Those existed in real life, right? Not just in books? He hoped so.

Momo’s eyebrows furrowed, and then raised as if in realization. Glancing down at Jeongin once more, she cautiously edged, “Did… did someone at home hurt you, hun?” 

The suggestion invoked an immediate urge to shake his head furiously in denial. His mother would never hurt him! But he knew what he looked like. He looked proper beat up, and his prickly attitude could probably be seen as defensiveness at being sent back. 

He could roll with this. What would he do if he were in that position? Certainly he wouldn’t agree right away. _Okay, remain closed lipped but hint that she’s right._ Jeongin turned his head to the side, averting his gaze, but not saying anything. 

Momo seemed to take that the way he wanted her too. “It’s okay, hun, you don’t have to say anything right now. Why don’t you come back upstairs with me, I can get you properly cleaned up and fed, and we can talk about things more there, hm?”

What should he do? He could probably shake her off, go looking for directions or something, but she might call the police on him if he insists on going, telling them about some kid that’s hurt and wandering the streets. Besides… as much as the events of the past 24 hours have made him want to be wary of the world, he couldn’t help but get good vibes from Momo. She seemed sweet and motherly, despite probably not being more than 10 years older than him. In the end, if they at least got to the point where she fed him and helped him clean himself up, he could probably fight her off if need be.

And he might not admit it, but Jeongin needed someone to trust right now. 

“I… okay.” 

Momo’s smile brightened at this, and she loosened her grip on him almost entirely. “Are you okay to walk? Oh my, I really should have asked this first! Do you need to go to the hospital?” The concern was back on her face, and Jeongin rushed to reassure her.

“No, no, nothing like that. And I can walk, I think.” Momo nodded slowly, worry still on her face, and started leading him toward the side door of the building, constantly looking back to check on him.

After pressing little buttons into a box-like device on the side of the door -- _is this what they called a keypad?_ \-- the two entered the building, Momo silenting leading them to the two elevators that were a few yards away. Jeongin tried to contain the awe on his face as he snuck glances around. The look of the place was completely strange to him, and the technology was overwhelming. Books could only prepare him so much. It was one thing to know something in theory, and another to experience it. 

As she pressed a button on the wall, she turned to Jeongin and smiled. “Would you mind telling me your name, honey?” She must have seen a shadow fall over Jeongin’s face, because she quickly held up her hands and reassured him. “You don’t need to, I just thought it would make it more comfortable since you know mine, and I can call you something other than honey.”

He could… give her a fake name? That’s what people did when they wanted to hide their identity. And Jaebeom was only working with his real name. Contemplating for a second, he chose the name of one of the villagers. “Kwangin.” He paused, then went for it. “But you can call me Innie.” He couldn’t give up the familiarity of his own name completely. He’d probably forget to respond if he was being called Kwangin, anyway.

“Thank you Innie, I appreciate you letting me know,” Momo said as the doors to the elevator opened. She beckoned him in, and as the doors closed behind them, she pressed another button.

“My apartment is small, but I’m actually not there much anymore,” Momo suddenly said, glancing at Jeongin to offer him a smile. “I’m mostly over at my boyfriend’s place, it’s much nicer. It was lucky that I was here for the night and found you. It’s not that I don’t trust my neighbors, but there are some creepy people in the world, you know? Who knows what some people would have done if they found some helpless boy like you.” A frown appeared on Momo’s face, “It upsets me so much. That people would hurt kids.” She glanced down again at Jeongin’s injuries. “I’m not a doctor or anything, but my step-brother was younger than me and always scraping himself up when I was a teenager. I’ll be able to fix you up well enough, I think.”

Jeongin let Momo talk, because he didn’t feel like making conversation. He had a suspicion that she was trying to fill the silence anyway.

The elevator dinged to a stop, and Momo led the way out, walking down a hallway until they reached a door, where she pressed (what Jeongin assumed was) a keypad again. Smiling back at Jeongin, Momo opened the door, pushing it open to reveal a type of living space that Jeongin was unfamiliar with, but still felt homey.

Unlike his small home which was all open spaces, Momo’s apartment seemed to have many rooms. Still, there were lots of framed photos, cute throw blankets and pillows scattered about, books piled messily on a table, and some shoes messily thrown by the door. It looked like it held pieces of Momo’s life, which Jeongin loved about his own home.

Momo took off her shoes, and Jeongin went to follow suit, but paused when he looked down at his dirtied and injured feet. The blood had seeped through the cloth he tied around his injury, and he felt suddenly ashamed about stepping into her apartment in such a state.

She must have noticed his gaze, because Momo gently touched his arm and smiled at him. “I’m gonna get something started to eat. I’ll show you the bathroom, and you can do what you need to in there, and when you’re ready, you can come out and eat, and then I’ll take a look at your injuries. Does that sound okay?” Jeongin liked that she was asking him, and not just demanding, and he nodded yes with a bit more kindness than he had shown her previously. 

She showed him the bathroom, left him with a hand towel, but told him it was probably a good idea to not shower until she checked out his injuries. 

Left alone, Jeongin took a moment to just sit atop the closed toilet seat lid. _What is happening…_ His mind couldn’t wrap around yet another twist in his life, yet here he was, forced to endure it somehow. And somehow, he was. _How have I not faced my own fate yet?_ All he could do was feel lucky he had met people like Jinyoung and Momo. 

Holding his head in his hands, Jeongin took a deep breath, bracing himself for what he had to do going forward. _Eat, get treatment. Then… There’s no way I can ask about the districts and still sound like I’ve lived here my whole life. Maybe I can tell her I have a cousin I need to contact but I don’t have his phone number memorized? Yeah, that could work. Isn’t that what people these days do? I’ve never seen a cell phone, obviously, but I’ve read a lot about them. There was that one book I read where someone was stranded but couldn’t contact anyone because they only had their number saved in the phone, not memorized. That seems normal enough. Yeah, we’ll go with that._

Heaving a sigh and forcing himself to his feet, Jeongin proceeded to relieve himself, wash his hands, splash water on his face (which made him realize the sting in his palms again), and stare at himself in the mirror. He hadn’t done so yesterday, and to do so now was startling. It brought back that weird out-of-body floatiness that he had felt in the car, like he was staring at someone who looked like himself but wasn’t him. Even as he raised a hand and watched the figure in the mirror make the same movement, he felt disconnected with the figure in the mirror. Shaking his head and dragging his gaze away, Jeongin folded the hand towel and placed it delicately on the counter before opening the door, and retracing his steps to where Momo had shown him her kitchen.

It was small and cozy, like the rest of her place, and she turned and smiled as she saw him peep his head through the entryway. “You can take a seat at the table in the living room, I’ll be out with the food in a moment.”

Nodding, Jeongin did as she told, playing with his fingers until he was startled from his thoughts by a dish being placed in front of him. Looking to see Momo sitting next to him, he gave her a small smile. “Thank you for the food, Momo-ssi.”

“Ah, it’s no problem, Innie. And you can just call me noona, okay?” 

The two of them ate in silence, Jeongin still on edge and Momo picking up on that. She had made scrambled eggs and toast, a typical breakfast from Miguk, but it was still something Jeongin was familiar with because it was easy to make and thus often made by a lot of the villagers. 

After eating, Momo went to retrieve her medical supplies, and Jeongin reexamined himself. The ripped open skin on his hand had stopped bleeding a long while ago, but were still open and stinging, having not scabbed over yet. His body ached, and he was sure he would be bruised all over soon, but resting and eating had restored his energy, and he could feel the effect in his body. His knee wasn’t as bad as his hands, but it was his foot that he was really concerned about. The sight of the dark brown dried blood on the cloth wrapped around his foot made him nauseous, and despite being completely soaked with blood that looked a few hours fresh, it seemed like it wasn’t bleeding at the moment. If he had gotten this kind of injury back in the village, the medic there surely would have already stitched it up, since it was pretty deep and wide.

“Okay, so let’s take a look at you.” Momo proceeded to look at his hands, trimming a bit of excess skin with sterilized scissors, disinfecting the area, applying moisturizer, and trying to bandage the palms, although it was a little difficult. She disinfected his knee as well, this time just applying a large adhesive bandage to the area instead of the bandage wrap she had used on his hands.

She unwound the cloth he had wrapped around his foot, and immediately cringed at the wound. “Damn, this doesn't look too good. It really should be seen by a professional, I can’t stitch it up…” Feeling Jeongin stiffen in her grip, she backtracked, “But I’ll do the best that I can.” She cleaned the wound with soap and water. “I think you’re not supposed to use alcohol disinfectant if the wound is this big, so we’ll just do it this way to be safe.” After that, she applied an antibiotic cream around the area, although the wound was still open so she couldn’t really go too close to it. “I don’t want it to get infected, but without stitching it up there’s not much I can do…” Frowning, she wrapped a bandage wrap tightly around his foot.

“Thank you… noona.” Jeongin felt awkward saying it, but she had asked him to call her that, and he didn’t want to disrespect her wishes.

“Ah, don’t thank me, I didn’t do much. Honestly, I’m still really worried about your foot… But you should be able to shower now, if you want. Since there’s no stitches, you should be able to get your foot wet? And we’ll just rewrap it afterward?” Momo sounded unsure, but Jeongin didn’t know any better, so he just nodded. 

He just wanted to shower and sleep. Even though he had rested overnight, he had passed out rather than sleeping, so it wasn’t the most fulfilling rest. Maybe it was the result of his blood sugar increase after eating, but Jeongin was suddenly so tired. He found it hard to resist the heaviness of his eyelids, fighting it by talking to himself. _Come on Jeongin, you don’t want to sleep with all this grime on you. And you probably stink, Momo-ssi is just being polite by not mentioning it._

As Momo brought their dishes to the kitchen, Jeongin stood up, and immediately wanted to sit down. He felt so exhausted again, like he wouldn’t be able to remain awake even for another few minutes. He groaned, holding his head in his hands and closing his eyes.

“Innie, honey, is everything okay?” Momo sounded panicked as she reappeared in the room. “Did you ever hit your head yesterday? Oh my goodness, what if you have a concussion?” 

“Eugh… I didn’t think I hit my head though…”

“Here, let’s get you over to the couch, standing will make it worse. And then we can try and figure everything out, alright?” She guided Jeongin over to her couch, and he just about collapsed onto it, the tired feeling completely overtaking his body.

“I just need to… sleep I think…”

“But if you have a concussion you’re not supposed to sleep… Innie, I’m really worried.” Jeongin forced his eyes open, straightening his posture so he was sat up straight.

“I really don’t think I hit my head though…” Jeongin looked up at Momo, who was biting her lip.

“But--” She was interrupted by a buzzing sound. “Ah, that’s my boyfriend, give me a second.”

 _Boyfriend? She never mentioned a boyfriend coming over…_ Jeongin felt like he should be putting his guard up, but he was way too exhausted to expend the energy.

His eyes fell closed again, and he heard the sound of the door opening. “Oppa! You took a bit longer than I thought you would.” Momo’s voice changed when she spoke to her boyfriend, getting higher pitched and adding a sort of whining tone to it. 

“Yes, well you asked me over here quite unexpectedly. And you know how I feel about being around here, it’s so small,” The boyfriend said with disgust. “Anyway, so this is him? The kid you told me about?”

 _Wait… What? No… No! This can’t be happening! There’s no way she’s involved in the government, is she? Do I have that bad luck?_ Jeongin forced his eyes open and tried to push himself off the couch, but his body shook with the effort. He couldn’t move. _Don’t tell me… Don’t tell me she put something in my food?!_ Panicked, Jeongin let out a frustrated groan, pulling the gazes of the two others in the room over to him.

“Yeah, he looks good right? Young, pretty, and he seems to have run away from home. By the looks of it, abusive family or something, so there won’t be anyone looking for him.” _Huh? That doesn’t sound like they’re some of Jaebeom’s supporters…?_

“Hm. Yeah, he’ll be good, once those injuries heal,” the man said. Jeongin finally took a look at him, his vision slightly blurry through his dazed headspace, but he clearly saw the nice looking suit the man was wearing, his shoulder length light hair, and the arm he had snaked around Momo’s waist.

“I did good, didn’t I oppa?” Jeongin could tell Momo was smirking just from her tone. “Better than Nayeon ever could, right?” 

“I told you not to speak poorly of her. Remember your place, Momo. There’s a reason Nayeon’s my girlfriend and you’re not.”

“For now,” Momo singsonged. She didn’t seem bothered by the man’s words. 

“Let’s get him out of here. If we see anyone on the way to my car, we’ll just say we’re bringing your cousin to the hospital.” Jeongin groaned, trying to shake off the man and Momo as each of them grabbed an arm of his, but failing miserably. “He looks super out of it, how much of that shit did you give him?”

“Exactly as much as you told me!” Momo whined as Jeongin was dragged forward, practically a dead weight between the two of them. “I think he’s just like, weak or something, and it affected him more. I don’t really know.” _So she did drug me… God, I’m an idiot aren’t I? Thinking I had found someone I could trust once again… Of course I’m not that lucky._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poor jeongin, nothing's easy for him ): did anyone suspect momo would be bad? i tried to leave subtle clues 🤔 
> 
> next chapter the first skz member appears! who's excited?! 
> 
> let me know if you have any thoughts or maybe even predictions! and thanks again to everyone that reads, leaves kudos, bookmarks, and comments. y'all are the reason i keep writing ♡ 
> 
> (also... the new teasers?! jeongin's blue hair?! WOW i am so excited for this repackage!!!)
> 
> also i hope everyone continues to stay safe and healthy, as well as your loved ones!!


End file.
